Mostly due to her apparent strength/flexibility, curiosity for art & music, and energetic nature, Tarah was enrolled at a local dance studio for a tumbling class (back bends, cartwheels, etc.).  It turned out to be right up her alley.  Tarah also took her first dance class at Jeanne Wright’s School of Dance and fell in love with the pink satin leotard and tutu she wore for her recital number, “Animal Crackers,” saying for months afterwards that she wanted to become a ballerina.  The recital was the first real evidence of Tarah’s charisma both on the stage and for her audience.  Placed front row center by the teacher, she took it upon herself to know all the words and dance steps to the song.  She practiced faithfully on her two mile walks with her mom, and rarely messed up the movements and lyrics during a performance.       

          At the end of kindergarten (still just four years old), the IOWA Test of Basic Skills (the Governmental Standard for Public School Testing), scored her at the third grade level for Phonics, second grade level for Math, and between the first and second grade level in all the other categories.  Tarah was ready for first grade.  She began as a five year old at Emerson Public School in the fall.  It was quite a task in and of itself though because of the School system’s “red-tape.”  Tarah was far too young than stipulated by the district a first-grader needed to be.  Finally, it was made possible by the current Principle, who was willing to bend the rules for Tarah and let her enroll despite her youth.       

         For her extra curricular activities, Tarah rode her horse, Raffi, in two Lead-line competitions and won two first place trophies. She also took another dance class in the fall, along with a beginning acrobatics class as well.  After two months, her teacher advanced her to the intermediate level which dealt with more complicated tricks (like back flips, front flips, and tumbling passes) for which Tarah was now ready. She was certainly on her way! ...A journey that would last over a decade and a half. Of what though, she had yet no idea...only that she loved gymnastics and that it gave her a fun outlet for her natural abilities.

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